Vladimir Putin will be held to account for "war crimes" carried out in recent days, world leaders vowed today - as "whiny" Russian diplomats face humiliation on the world stage.
In a strongly-worded statement, G7 nations - the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA and the EU - warned that the Russian President will be held responsible for sickening attacks on civilian targets.
Prime Minister Liz Truss today spoke with her G7 counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and in a joint statement they said: "We will hold President Putin and those responsible to account."
They pledged to never recognise Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson - or the "sham referenda" Moscow uses to justify it.
The joint statement continued: "We deplore deliberate Russian escalatory steps, including the partial mobilisation of reservists and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, which is putting global peace and security at risk.
"We reaffirm that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences."
They again called on Russia to "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its troops".
The G7 leaders also called on Belarus to "stop enabling the Russian war of aggression by permitting Russian armed forces to use Belarusian territory and by providing support to the Russian military".
It comes as more than 100 countries are expected to condemn Russia's illegal annexation of four regions in Ukraine.
Putin's isolated regime is looking "weaker and weaker" by the day as it attempts to strong-arm nations into supporting it in a crunch UN vote this week.
Western officials are confident that at least 100 members of the General Assembly will vote to call on Russian troops to withdraw from the four regions.
Putin's diplomats are desperately trying to convince nations that the West is to blame for rising food prices and frame the dispute as "the West versus the rest" - but officials say they are looking "weaker and weaker".
Officials dismissively said: "This is a country that has a permanent seat on the security council, a country that's meant to be a superpower but they're sounding very whiny and isolated indeed."
Russia is targeting African nations with which it has historical relations, officials say, in a desperate effort to cushion what looks to be a humiliating defeat which will leave it "bruised and isolated".
The 193 members of the General Assembly are set to vote on a resolution condemning Putin's latest territory grab in Ukraine and calling on troops to withdraw.
The resolution has been put before all UN members after Russia vetoed it at the UN security council in the face of international condemnation.
Russia has become an international pariah since its invasion of Ukraine in February, and has already been defeated twice in the UN General Assembly as friendly nations distance themselves from warmonger Putin.
It is a "humiliating" position for Russian diplomats, made worse after the assembly rejected Russian calls for a secret vote - with ally India voting against Putin's regime this week.
Only North Korea has recognised its annexation of the regions after Moscow claimed it had public support after sham referendums.
Western officials maintain they will never recognise the regions as "anything other than Ukrainian".
Russian officials have been on a "charm offensive" with non-Western nations, warning of "consequences" if it is once again condemned, it is claimed.
"Lots of things play into it that aren't always related to the issue at hand," officials said.
Putin's forces have escalated violence in recent days, with missiles killing 19 people and wounding 105 across Ukraine yesterday.
The Russian President said he ordered "massive" long-range strikes after accusing Ukraine of an attack on the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea on Saturday.
Today the government faced calls to explain what it would do in the event of Putin using nuclear weapons.
Former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood suggested the annexation heightened the risk - as Russian military doctrine allows it to use nuclear weapons in response to attacks on its soil.
He said: "Putin can claim this was part of the motherland."
Mr Ellwood called on the government to outline exactly what it would do if Russia does unleash nuclear war, saying: "We have a duty to do all we can to deter Putin going nuclear, let's not leave it to chance."
Defence Minister Alec Shelbrooke responded: "It's not tactically sound to outline what the response would be to any potential situation."
